Arrancar outcasts & Paranoid people
by Graficcha
Summary: Crossover with Lost: Ulquiorra and Grimmjow are sent to a 'deserted' island as a punishment for defying Aizen's orders. Chaos ensues when the Lostcrew meets them. set during Vaizardarc, spoilers, might be AU, minor cussing
1. defying

_**Arrancar outcasts, paranoid people**_

Setting:

Somewhere during the Vaizard-arc, written before the Arrancars show up again (so it might be AU if you read it later, I make up stuff I need for the story, but don't expect any major weirdness)

Ulquiorra and Grimmjow - centered, crossover with Lost. (first two chapters Bleach only)

Disclaimer: I guess you all know I don't own Lost nor Bleach, or this crossover would've already been animated XD

Chapter one: defying

The castle's halls were completely silent, anticipating what would come next…

When Ulquiorra calmly strode past the door to Aizen's 'throne room', a tremor of outraged swearing and a bit panicky shouts shook the walls. Soon after, more cussing echoed through the hollow castle. Ulquiorra stifled a sigh when he heard Aizen dismiss Grimmjow, and he resisted looking away when his 'rival' came staggering out of the large black door.

Grimmjow's mouth was twisted into a pissed off thin line, and he was leaning over a bit, clutching his injured left shoulder. Ulquiorra could hear him cursing Tousen through clenched teeth, and when he coldly inquired "Are you ok?", Grimm sharply turned to face him.

"Like hell I'm okay! Jeez, piss off, go annoy someone else. Or how about you go kiss Aizen's butt, eh? I bet you're having a great time right now, but I won't let anyone make fun of me, understood?" Grimmjow burst out.

Ulquiorra let the yelling wash over him, and gave the other Arrancar the time to huff until he was ready to listen. Grimmjow noticed the lack of a snide remark, and paid attention now.

"What DO you want?" he gruffly asked.

"Make sure that arm grows back. You'll need it, and… it looks ridiculous like that."

Grimmjow nearly exploded in fury. "Like I need you to tell me that! Of course I'll regrow it, if only that dick Tousen hadn't frikkin' _burned_ it I could've already reattached it!"

Right now, Grimmjow was frustrated, embarrassed and damned! His shoulder hurt. At least the shallow cut he had gotten from Ichigo was already healing quickly, and if it didn't reopen it might not even leave a scar.

But now this loser-Arrancar was insulting him, too. He had never hated Ulquiorra, but he had a severe dislike for the guy. Ulquiorra never fought, he made up the most ridiculous and irrelevant excuses for not doing so, and he could actually get away with it. Grimmjow didn't have any respect for cowards, especially if they dissed him. Ulquiorra, on the other hand, simply felt that Grimmjow wasn't worth his time and energy, even if that meant taking his sneers and criticism.

He wasn't worth his interest, until today, that is…  
When Ulquiorra had first awoken as an Arrancar, he only hazily remembered why he had agreed to become one. He _did_ recall that it involved being hunted eternally, having to kill his enemies to feed and stay alive. He had become a half-Shinigami to be free from that eternal hunger, and to gain power. With the strength he had now, he could easily defend himself against the strongest Soul Slayers, and simply ignore the nuisances of the weaker ones. He used his power to force his way into the world and to ensure his right to exist.

The fact that it also meant being under Aizen's command was only a minor letdown. At least, it hadn't been a problem until Ulquiorra had learned that Aizen, as his creator, had a high degree of control over his creations.

The Arrancars could disobey him, but if Aizen really wanted them to follow his orders, he could easily force their astral bodies to do so. They all had a free will, but Aizen could bind their actions anytime. And that was becoming troublesome for Ulquiorra.

The Arrancar knew that Ichigo was a potential threat for his own life, which he valued most, but unlike Grimmjow he also saw that his half-hollow strength might be used against their other enemies, the Shinigamis.

Ulquiorra didn't feel like dieing for Aizen's cause, only because his master liked to experiment around a bit…if he'd really value the life of his subordinates, he could have easily prevented them from leaving Hueco Mundo with Grimmjow. Instead, he had been mildly amused at what happened. The five that died had only been cannon fodder, and Ulquiorra hated the thought of being the same.

He wanted to live, and the fact that Aizen controlled him could endanger his life. This, Grimmjow had now experienced first-hand, and he was both confused and angry.

If the blue-haired Arrancar had been completely free, he'd have killed Tousen Kaname on the spot, but even that pure murderous instinct had been mercilessly suppressed by his 'master'. For the first time, he was aware of the level of control Aizen had over him, and he needed some time to sort things through…this sure was a change in authority…

…Grimmjow noticed Ulquiorra mint green eyes shift in the dim light of the hallway, and when the pale Arrancar focused on him again with a meaningful expression, realisation dawned.

"You knew! You knew about it, didn't you? ", he asked loudly "you knew he could…"

"Yes, I knew." Ulquiorra answered calmly, his eyes, the only colourful thing on him, keeping a steady but piercing gaze. "What do you feel now that you know?"

Grimm's eyes widened. "What I feel? What the…I…" he started stammering, not following Ulquiorra's 'logic' at all.

"…What the hell do you care anyway!" His expression became grim again, and he abruptly turned his back to Ulquiorra, cursing himself for having fallen for it. Ulquiorra watched him as he left , rounding the corner swaying a bit because of his now unbalanced body.

Good thing they healed so fast…in a day or two, if he wasn't distracted to much, he'd have his arm back. He'd make sure to stay out of Aizen's way, and he hoped that Tousen wouldn't come to insult him again, or he'd really kill the blind man this time. And he'd rather not do that, now that he knew what Aizen could do to him…if Aizen wanted to punish him, it was simply a matter of forcing him to drop his defences.

While the thoughts jumbled through his mind, the white shadow of his rival stayed behind. The slender man shook his head and sighed. For once, he felt that allying with Grimmjow might be the best course of action, if only to protect the one who also knew of Aizen's secret control.

Soon, Grimm would discover that he couldn't tell anyone but Ulquiorra about it. But right now, he needed some sleep. Grimm slouched down on his bed, fiddled with his clothes as he tried to undress by only using one arm, then resolutely threw his zanpakutou into a corner.

_Naming a sword…ridiculous._ he thought when he heard the handle clang against the ground. He proceeded to wash the blood off his face and torso over the sink, and he suddenly chilled when some of the water streamed through the hole in his stomach. It felt like sitting in a rollercoaster that suddenly sped downwards.

When he was done freshening up, he lay down on his bed. He wiggled around a few more minutes as he tried to find a comfortable position, so that he wouldn't lie on his shoulder nor on his extern jaw, and when he had settled he allowed his body to rest.

Meanwhile, Ulquiorra was still pondering in front of the great door. Five minutes later, when Aizen was done talking to fox-face, he had retreated into the shadows of Hueco Mundo…

_To be continued_, I've got at least one chappie almost typed. A long one

Read & review please, I like encouragements XD No really, constructive criticism appreciated dearly.


	2. break the limit

disclaimer: me don't own bleach or lost. Go figure.

Chapter 2: break the limit

Four days after Grimmjow's punishment, during Ichigo's training with the Vaizards, Ulquiorra and Grimmjow were summoned to the throne room. The two had managed to avoid each other since the Tousen-incident, yet they had subconsciously gotten a lot closer now that they were officially both considered rebellious.

Grimmjow had lost quite a bit of his bravura in his struggle to keep his emotions at bay ànd regrow his arm. He had miraculously succeeded in doing both, as Tousen still roamed the halls alive and Grimm's new arm functioned perfectly. Yet, he was still very much aware of Aizen's spirit pressure looming over him.

In the beginning, Grimmjow had doubtlessly been Aizen's most favourite Arrancar.: he was vivid, impulsive; strong and skilled and most certainly not dumb. And the best thing was that he knew it damn well. It amused Aizen to no end to hear him loudmouth and insult his brethren with confidence.

But since he had crossed Aizen's limit by ignoring Aizen's order to leave the matter strawberry in Ulquiorra's hands, Aizen had become a bit annoyed at his I-do-what-I-want attitude.

Ulquiorra had always been the one to think of himself in the first place, and the silent one. Slight disagreements with his master usually resulted in a clear, yet subtle defiance of his commands. As a result of this behaviour, Aizen had to resort to using direct control more often than he liked to avoid the pale Arrancar from arousing a whole league of rebels.

Now, Aizen had reached a point where he could no longer postpone his decision. When Grimmjow and Ulquiorra stood before his throne in total silence (which, for Grimm, was exceptional), he revealed his plans for them:

"I will send you two away for the next few weeks. You can understand that I cannot risk having you do foolish things in this crucial phase or my-…our plan." Both Arrancar cast their leader a surprised look.

"You will go to the human world, to a deserted place where you can stay without coming into contact with humans or Shinigamis, an island void of souls."

Grimmjow didn't know whether to laugh at the 'plan or be pleased with Aizen's dumbness…if he wanted to, he could easily escape from any island by ripping through space. He could go back to Hueco Mundo (though he suspected that the way in would be blocked for them), and if that didn't work, he could freely roam the human world with his supernatural speed and powers at his disposal. Like hell he was going to stay on an island…

If Aizen sent them away, he would never be able to make them stay unless...he had more tricks up his sleeve. A glace at Ulquiorra taught Grimmjow that his 'brother' had reached the same conclusion.

Grimm was about to ask if there was a catch when Aizen abruptly dismissed him.

"Grimmjow, you can go now. I see Ulquiorra wants to discuss something with me…"

Ulquiorra's reaction was double-sided: he looked as if he indeed needed to have a serious chat, but on the other hand he backed away a little, like a child caught thinking bad things about his parents. His bloodless lips were squeezed tightly together, and beads of nervous sweat formed on his temples.

Reluctantly, Grimmjow left him alone with Aizen. When he leaned himself against the wall of the throne room, he wondered when exactly he had started worrying so much about his, and Ulquiorra's, life. He had never before felt this directly threatened.

In the throne room, Ulquiorra strengthened his resolve. He knew the moment to regain possession over his own life would come, but this was a bit too early for comfort. He felt like he didn't know the extent of Aizen's control yet. But this was the time to confront his creator with the fact that the creation wished to become independent.

Concerning power alone, Aizen wasn't much above trash to him, but even a tiger can't defeat a rat when the rat had the key to the tiger's mind and body. Either Aizen would leave Ulquiorra to his own devices if he could prove he was more trouble to him than he could handle, or the Arrancar would die trying to get out of his grasp.

For Ulquiorra, that last one was not an option. He wouldn't take the risk of making Aizen his mortal enemy, but if Aizen did decide to kill him, he'd make sure he brought a part if him down with him. He was pretty sure that he could exhaust Aizen's mind enough to render him without control over the other Arrancars, and Ulquiorra knew that at least Grimmjow would take his chance to get his revenge…on Tousen.

Strange that someone as aggressive an careless as Grimm could actually behave like a kicked hound dog. A dog that could bring his master down once unleashed from its chains. He'd fight anyone, anything if he felt like it, but right now, his survival instincts told him to be a good boy, or else…

Yep, he was pretty scared of Aizen now. Pissed off, but scared.

XIxIxIiX

Ulquiorra was tense, his senses on edge as he wondered what Aizen was up to. As if Aizen had read his mind, he made himself comfortable in his throne and asked

"You understand the 'why', but you want to know the exact 'what', right?"

Ulquiorra glared at him from under his helmet and dark hair, or at least, looked as angry as he could with his eternally emotionless face. It came out like a sad scowl.

A vicious look crept into Aizen's face as he smiled amusedly at his subordinate. "You'll see soon enough...or rather, feel it."

"Tell me." Ulquiorra demanded with a low hiss.

…Outside the room, Grimmjow felt the spiritual tension rise inside. The grey-bluish hairs in his neck stood on end while he listened. Apparently, Ulquiorra had gathered enough courage to confront Aizen. Grimm pushed his right ear against the wall, but the Shinigami spoke so quietly that he couldn't hear a word.

His outer jaw crunched against the black stone as he clenched his teeth in anticipation and frustration, but he stopped moving altogether when Ulquiorra's spirit pressure suddenly surged. A violent argument followed.

Or rather, Ulquiorra's soul desperately lashed out while Aizen's aura slowly grew and tried to sneakily corner the Arrancar, like a snake lifting its body, intent on killing.

Grimmjow felt the danger when Ulquiorra's spirit pressure started disappearing. Also, his vision became blurry in the corners of his eyes. It looked as if the world was fleeing from his grasp, and his limbs grew heavier as the moments passed. His sixth sense became weaker, and the visualisations of the two spirits in the throne room slid from his mind.  
Fear crept into his heart as he felt his powers slipping away from his body and spirit.

Grimmjow agitatedly slammed the large doors open with a tremendous effort to see what was going on, and he saw Aizen standing face-to-face with Ulquiorra in the middle of the black void of the room.

The white-skinned Arrancar was turning a bit deathly grey, as if he was nauseous with fear. The thin, inky lines that trailed down his cheeks like tears had become a shade lighter when the blood had drained from his face, and his green irises had shrunk to an impossibly small size as he stared at Aizen wide-eyed like a deer caught in the headlights.

Aizen took a step in his direction, and Ulquiorra backed away. This little game continued for a few slow endearing steps, until Aizen rushed forward and placed his index finger under Ulquiorra's chin. While he slowly drained the two Arrancars from their powers, the ex-captain tentatively moved his finger down Ulquiorra's throat and came to a halt above the hole between his collarbones.

Ulquiorra's body tensed in a tortured shudder as Aizen touched the white skin on the inside of the hole. It was almost a caress, it looked as if it tickled, but it caused the Arrancar a great deal of pain. He was 'lucky' that he was slowly losing his hollow identity, because what Aizen did harmed only his hollow side.

Nobody had ever dared to touch Ulquiorra in that place before, and as a result he had never known what could happen if someone with a higher spiritual pressure than him would 'fill' the hole, the void it symbolized. If he hadn't been drained, his spirit pressure would have pushed Aizen out, but now, he was pretty much defenceless. He felt his knees turn wobbly, and when Aizen released his grip on the trembling Arrancar, Ulquiorra's legs gave away and he fell on his bum.

But Aizen wasn't done yet. He gracefully knelt down and whispered something in his creation's ear while grabbing the horn on his half-helmet.

"You've been a very naughty Arrancar, You know. I can't have that, and I'll make sure it never happens again."

He smiled gently, the smile that had stolen so many people's hearts, like the heart and soul of that young girl, Hinamori. But Ulquiorra could see the hidden cruel intentions, even if he now lacked the sense that allowed him to feel his master's emotions.

"How about you show me what's going on in your mind, hmm?"

For a moment, Ulquiorra didn't understand what his master wanted,. When realisation dawned, he forced his body to stand; the floor felt like a mattress, and he had trouble finding his balance as he took some distance from Aizen again. The hollow world was already rejecting his now almost mortal body.

If he'd let his emotions get the best of him now, he'd either die trying to kill Aizen, or run and be chased until Aizen could kill him. Time for some damage control…he had to get Aizen's goodwill again, even if it meant damaging his own body. He'd rather be maimed than dead. Ulquiorra struggled to keep his breath and posture steady as he complied to Aizen's indirect order.

When the Shinigami saw that the Arrancar was indeed going to obey, he smiled evilly. "Good boy…" he said. "But if you think I'll stop now, you're wrong. You defied me more that once, and you won't listen,...who won't listen will have to _feel_ the consequences of his actions.  
Please, this hurts me as much as it will hurt you…"

Ulquiorra growled silently. 'Show me your mind' was the order. This usually involved removing his left eye from its socket. The wound always closed quickly thanks to his hollow powers, but in these conditions…

Ulquiorra knew perfectly well what Aizen had done to prevent them escaping from their temporary prison. The man had told him when he asked, and it had been the cause of Ulquiorra's panicky reaction. The ex-captain had stripped both him and Grimmjow of their hollow and Shinigami powers. They could already feel the strain of the thousands of spiritual pressures throughout Hueco Mundo on their now mortal bodies.

A punch would now hurt them like it did to any other human being, they'd need food and water, and they'd be completely visible to mankind. Hence the deserted island…Even if their bodies were heavily trained, able to stretch the human abilities to their limits, they'd never be able to swim away from an island…and even if they could, people would immediately notice that they weren't human. They'd be too weak to defend themselves.

And Ulquiorra hated being weak. And he hated the fact that Aizen could do this. His compliments to the Shinigami for conveniently 'forgetting' to mention that little detail before they were created. Anyway, he'd have to suffer for now in order to survive.

Grimmjow had also fallen to his knees when he was turning 'human'. His blue eyes darted from Aizen to Ulquiorra and back, and when he saw Ulquiorra reach for his face with a trembling hand he yelled.

"Heeey! What's going on! What the hell are you doing!"

The pale Arrancar glanced at his with an incredibly haunted look, sadder and more depressed than Grimmjow had ever seen him. Ulquiorra was desperate to survive and fight his instincts as he willed his body to maim itself.

Aizen grew impatient. "And? …I'll help you if you can't even force yourself that far…"

That was the limit. Ulquiorra placed his fragile long finger around his eyeball, and pulled it out of its socket.

Pain exploded in his head when the veins and nerves ripped, but unlike every other time, it didn't subside immediately. Instead, the pain drilled through his skull and numbed his senses other that the feeling of sheer agony. The Arrancar's inner system was thrown out of balance as adrenalin and morphine rushed trough his body, and he nearly fell from the wave of nausea that followed.

His skull was ready to burst, but he managed to keep Aizen in his blurring, now depthless vision..

Grimmjow felt like throwing of when he saw Ulquiorra extend a violently shaking hand to give Aizen his bloody eyeball. Aizen took it between his index finger and thumb, examining it mildly interested.

"What kind of a sick …!" Grimmjow shouted, but he fell silent when he saw Aizen casting him a maniacal, empty look. Blood was streaming down Ulquiorra's face, but he pushed his conscience through the veil of pain. Aizen saw this and was satisfied by it.

He had shown his superiority, caused pain, and his creation had regained its lower position. Now he only had to show Grimmjow who's in charge. Aizen turned his attention to him, only to find an already subdued individual.

Grimmjow, the one who had never had any reason to push away his anger and contempt, was now visibly shaking, his fists crunching in an effort to keep his emotions at bay. He was scared about what would happen if he didn't. Especially if he considered that he hadn't really been 'him' that long…'he' was too young to die already, and death had never been so close, not even when he had taken a direct hit from Zangetsu. No, this was way more dangerous. Ichigo had never been a real threat.

Aizen felt that Grimmjow would undertake no further actions of rebellion against him anytime soon. He couldn't guarantee that the Arrancar wouldn't attack Tousen or vent his anger on the other Arrancars, or even on Gin. Aizen grinned inwardly about the mental images that flashed before his eyes when he imagined what a clash that would be…Ichimaru against Jyagajaq…fox face versus grim jaw.

But he'd have to find out what would happen later…right now, he couldn't afford having troublesome subordinates around. With a last look at the bleeding Ulquiorra, whose spirit pressure was now reduced to the fragile aura of a human, Aizen dismissed him and Grimmjow in an almost friendly manner.

Grimmjow immediately turned to the door, but when he saw that Ulquiorra was having major trouble staying on his feet, he felt guilty…if he hadn't been so stubborn to take those Gillian Arrancar to the human world, Aizen might have never thought them to be dangerous to his plans. If he had obeyed, it wouldn't have had to come to this.

For a moment, Grimmjow hesitated, casting the exit to safety a doubting look, but eventually he turned around to fetch Ulquiorra. When sweat trickled down his brow as he noticed that doing so required getting closer to Sousuke, he started seriously questioning his almost non-existent sanity.

'_I can't believe I'm doing this…'_ he thought as he lent Ulquiorra his shoulder to lean on. Not that he could help out much…he was swaying to and fro himself because of the effects the power drain had on him.

Aizen watched them turn their backs to him in silence, and then called out to them once more.  
"Tousen will take you to the island in a few minutes. Meet him at Gin's quarters."

Then he turned away, and disappeared in the dark hazes that seemed to drift everywhere in front of Grimm's eyes. The captain's spirit pressure diminished, and the two Arrancars straightened up a bit. Ulquiorra didn't make a sound when Grimmjow pulled him forward, wishing nothing else than to get out of that room for now.

TBC

Phew, this has gotten longer than I thought. I decided to split this chapter in two...they'll end up on the island by the end on next chappie, I hope. I'm thinking about keeping this a long prologue and never even really doing a crossover...or I'll post the crossover as a more or less seperate humor bit. XD

andumm..R&R please? I know the first chapter was too short x(


	3. after the storm

Nyah, dislaimer: now GUESS what... I don't own Bleach, whoop-dee-friggin'-doo.

here we go again XD

Chapter 3: after the storm (also known as: I am SO mean)

Slightly disoriented and shaky on their legs, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra trudged to the large black door, the door that would separate them from Aizen's looming presence. Grimmjow considered picking his injured 'partner in crime' up and carrying him out on his back, but he dismissed the thought when he realised he'd probably fall over, too if he tried.

And Ulquiorra seemed to take the situation rather well in his opinion. Okay, he was trembling, and his breath was unsteady, but his movements were controlled and as coördinated as his impaired vision allowed. He _looked_ calm, and he uttered not a single complaint, even if the hole in his head must have been causing him enormous pain.

Some blood was still trickling out of the open wound, and his neck and collar were drenched in the sticky fluid. His right eye was fixed on the ground, that seemed to wobble up and down under his feet. When they had finally traversed through the door, Ulquiorra could feel Grimmjow staring at him, concerned and also taken aback…

_'How can he stay this calm?' _Grimm wondered. He slowly began to feel a hint of admiration for the slender and rather weak-looking Arrancar.  
Once they were in the hallway and Grimmjow had shut the door behind them, they both slumped to the ground, and Grimmjow leaned over to Ulquiorra now that he felt it was safe to speak again.

"Oy, are you all right?" he asked, putting his hand on Ulquiorra's shoulder in a friendly-meant gesture.

His rather blunt but honest question earned him a fiery look from Ulquiorra, who slowly turned his head to face him, a single green orb focusing on him. But Grimm ignored the weird feeling in the pit of his stomach and continued.

"I never thought you could be this rock-hard…Gotta admit I'm glad you didn't freak out or anything." he started chatting carelessly. "Anyway, we're in a load of trouble now...heh." He crunched his teeth into a grin. "Dammit, I bet even you didn't know he could remove our powers like that…bastard…"

His words, that sounded more light-hearted then he felt, brought a shudder over Ulquiorra, who was breathing slowly and deeply, hunched over in pain. Grimmjow continued.

"Well, I can't say I really wished for this to happen to you, but I think I'd have been SO screwed if Aizen would order me to actually…hurt myself. You were great, really!"

As his compliments continued, Ulquiorra jerked under Grimmjow's comforting hand on his shoulder. He crunched his teeth, clenched his elegant hands into fists, squeezed his good eye shut.

The pain and the stress, the way he had fought his own instinct of self-preservation, his severely damaged pride…for now, this was all he could take. Never had he been this outraged, desperate and ready to kill.

Grimmjow fell on his back when Ulquiorra suddenly shoved him away to stand up. He could see the pressure building up in the usually calm Arrancar as Ulquiorra tensed all his muscles in frustration, and then the white shadow unleashed his emotions.

A raw, agonised cry rang in Grimmjow's ears, and it lasted.

Like a captured beast, Ulquiorra howled, yelled his pain into the world. Bottling it up would kill him now…or kill Grimmjow.

Grimmjow was honestly shocked by this outburst. With his eyes widened, his two jaws hanging open, he marvelled at the display. He could almost visualise the negative energy radiating off him, devastating in its pure nature and whirling like a tornado with Ulquiorra as the centre of it.

The castle's walls were lucky that this didn't happen with the Arrancar on full power, or else there might not have been much left of them, or of Grimm, for that matter. In the human world, it could have wiped out the souls of an entire city, but as things were now, Ulquiorra's powers were too limited to achieve anything but alerting Tousen of their presence.

The blind man heard the scream, and he knew that his master had succeeded in removing the traitors' powers. He hadn't felt them at all. Slowly, the justice zealot made his way through the corridors, taking his merry time to get to them…he wouldn't hurry if it was only a matter of time before the big, exhausting plans of Sousuke would commence.

When Ulquiorra had released his fury along with his last breath, the pain in his head rose to a critical level. His body was starting to yearn for oxygen, something that wasn't present in Hueco Mundo. He'd live, but it was beginning to tear his lungs apart. Blood and tears leaked out of his eyes as he went completely limp.

Grimmjow was barely fast enough to catch him. He grabbed his soon to be only companion under his arms and tried to heave him onto his feet again, but when Ulquiorra made a weak movement to the left, he lost his fragile balance and they both fell to the floor. Even if the stone _looked_ blurry and squishy, it was still hard.

After flailing through the air with a random 'Oy!', Grimmjow landed on his outer cheekbone. He had tightly shut his eyes to prepare for the impact, and when he collided with the floor, he heard a strange, dulled rather metallic-sounding 'DING.' Somewhere in front of his nose, followed by a pained 'Ungh!'.

When he slowly opened his eyes, he saw a very familiar bleak horn sticking up in the shining black stone. Grimmjow quickly stood up, and he suppressed a weird giggle rising in his throat…to his sometimes juvenile mind, the scene was ridiculously funny, but the situation made his insides churn with a mix of stinging pity and disgust.

Somehow, Ulquiorra had managed to lodge his horn into a crack in the floor, and he was lying on his side, his neck bent in an awkward, uncomfortable angle. The tortured, helpless Arrancar was pressing his hands against his skull in agony as he tried to push the splitting headache away.

He was holding his breath, cramped from the pain, trying not to move. Finally, a soft 'Ah!' escaped his lips, and he started breathing in and out again, controlled and tense. He opened his right eye, and the world drifted into his vision again. Only then he became really aware of the position he was in.

For a moment, he thought about the best course of action, and eventually he carefully twisted his body around until he was on his knees, leaning on his elbows with his head at a painful 90 degree angle.

Ulquiorra saw Grimmjow looking at him, and he could seethe manwas forcing the corners of his mouth downwards, but they'd twitch up every so often into a silly grin.

But Grimm _really_ wasn't making fun of him…he was trying to get his limbs moving, to get serious, but right now his brain, thrown out of balance and pretty stressed, had other plans.

Ulquiorra ignored him. He should've known that the blue-haired Arrancar would be prone to a nervous breakdown soon, after all he had just gone through a major one himself. He started pushing himself up slowly, but to no avail.L He only managed to crick his neck, but his horn wouldn't budge.

Under the bloodstains on his cheek a blush formed with the little leftover blood he still had, both of extreme embarrassment and a twinge of anger. He bit his lower lip when he tried again, but when it didn't work, he turned his green iris to Grimmjow…

…who had turned his back to the drama and his face to the wall, hammering his knuckled into it while stifling his chuckles and eventually breaking out in a howl of laughter. Ulquiorra, knowing fully well that he was in no position to criticise Grimm's behaviour, sighed warily and for once set his pride aside.

"Umm…I…uh.."  
Great gods...he couldn't even say a normal sentence anymore. Desperate to get up again, he felt the blood pressure in his head rising, causing blood to drip from his empty eye socket. Finally, he resorted to a simple, pathetic

"Help…"

Grimmjow heard the pleading word, and he felt it was a clear sign that Ulquiorra was in trouble indeed. Oh, he had hoped that he wouldn't need to help, because he didn't trust himself with…'delicate' matters like this. As he tried to get a grip and holding his stomach, aching from holding back snickers and giggles, he turned to Ulquiorra again.

Wiping the tears out of the corners of his eyes, he crouched down. "I'm sorry…I can't help myself. It's just so frikkin' funny…Now what do I do?"

Ulquiorra hesitated. Then he suggested that maybe the wisest course of action would be to grab his helmet and then pull it upwards in an arc, following the path it had taken when entering the floor.

With shaking hands, Grimmjow placed his hands on Ulquiorra's helmet and clenched his fingers around the thick bony rims of it. Out of common sense, he avoided pulling the black, soft hair into his grasp as he tugged. The horn stuck to the ground, and he pulled harder. Ulquiorra's eye widened when he felt the force, and he readied himself for the sudden release. Grimmjow heaved and hung his whole weight into it.

With a horrible sound, like a car-tire braking squeak mixed with metal on metal screeches, only longer, the horn shot loose. Grimm tumbled onto his back when his force turned itself against him, and finally freed, Ulquiorra

Pushed himself up onto his feet. With a sigh, he felt the blood stream back to its usual place, alleviating the pumping throb in his head. Still wobbly, he helped Grimmjow up, and they were barely standing stable in the blurry world when Tousen arrived.  
The two Arrancars were glad he couldn't see them, holding hands and leaning against each other like drunkards.

"What's going on?" Tousen asked loudly. "Why aren't you at Gin's place yet?"  
The zealot huffed. "I've always known you couldn't be trusted…and will you LISTEN to me when I'm talking to you, it's not because I can't see you that I can't hear you sneaking off!"

The two victims warily turned to him.

"Oh bummer." Grimmjow remarked sarcastically…Man, he hated that guy.

"Shouldn't we be going now…" Ulquiorra sighed dully.

The sound of beat down acceptation and hauntedness made Tousen wonder what else Aizen might have done to them, apart from making them 'human'. Not that he wouldn't agree with punishing them more…no penalty could be great enough for disrupting justice and the one who carried it out.

While the blind man was pondering and going over his justice mantra again, he heard the noise of a sword unsheathing behind him, and then a bump and the sound of someone falling –again.

At the sight of Tousen, Grimmjow had initially ignored his blood thirst, for his own sake, but then the justice freak had fleshed a smirk, and Grimm had resolutely drawn his sword to kill him. Ulquiorra had evenly resolutely thrown himself at Grimmjow to prevent a disaster. Once more, they were on the floor, and already hurrying to get up. It was becoming a routine by now.

Grimmjow was fuming. He bared his teeth at Ulquiorra, and to Tousen he snarled

"Not – a – word."

Tousen, for once, couldn't quite put his finger on what he had heard (he didn't dare imagine the two Arrancars doing what he assumed he had heard, for he'd risk a fit of laughter), and merely cocked his eyebrows to react on the tussle.

As fast as the shifting floor and their wobbly legs allowed them, Aizen's Espadas strode off to Gin's quarters. When they had put some distance between themselves and Tousen, Grimmjow burst forth in a low hiss.

"What'd you do that for! I could've at least hurt him…" he whispered angrily at Ulquiorra, whom he had given his shoulder to lean on, despite his 'betrayal'. Ulquiorra only stared at the moving floor, eerily calm after his outburst from earlier, and answered.

"Do you _really_ think you could have done anything to him? You couldn't even get close to him if he didn't want you to. His reiatsu is toostrong for us now. Besides, Aizen is probably still keeping an eye on us…even if we can't feel his … attention anymore…"

Grimmjow shuddered slightly. _Right…_ Now that Tousen was out of his sight, he could think more clearly. He realised that Ulquiorra might just have saved his ass.

"Oy…Right. I forgot about that for a sec…" he whispered "Thanks dude."

Ulquiorra noted the use of 'dude' with a hint of dismay, but he was satisfied that the other was finally beginning to understand that losing control would result in possibly _very_ unpleasant things. He began hoping he wouldn't have to watch Grimmjow's every move, especially because keeping his own composure was proving to be difficult enough.

Besides, Grimm had already been a great assistance already…

"Consider it a 'thank you' for helping me… to get my…you know… out." Ulquiorra admitted, casting a glance backwards to see if Tousen was still a few corners behind. The incident hadn't exactly done his pride any good. He hated being indebted.

"It's okay. We're even now, if you insist." Grimm replied quietly.

In total silence, they walked through the halls. Somehow, somewhere in this mess, the 'rivals' had come to an unverbalised understanding, an alliance against a common threat. Even if the Arrancars didn't quite foster any real 'feelings', it was a bit of a comfort to know that they'd be able to rely on someone else if they failed themselves.

Not solitude, loneliness would get to them on that island… they were still Arrancars, and being weakened physically didn't mean they became all human trash, but still… safety is in numbers.

Grimmjow halted at the door of Gin's room. As fox-face wasn't in Hueco Mundo right now, the room was deserted. When Tousen caught up (he had been distracted by some weak hollows on the way -the creatures still didn't leave him alone, so he had to shoo them away first-), he gestured them to go in. In the half-darkness, Grimmjow could recognise a circular pattern on the floor if he concentrated on it. Ulquiorra quickly looked away when he felt a wave of nausea wash over him at the sight of the turbulent painted floor.

"Ichimaru Gin prepared this to transport you both. Step into the circle." Tousen ordered.

Not bothering to retaliate now, both Espada did so, and as soon as they were inside the circle, the edges began shimmering in an intense white light. The room and Tousen blurred even more, enough to hide Kaname's self-satisfied smirk as the two Arrancars began fading. Everything was drawn into the light, and the dreary darkness spilt up in colours known and unknown to them, whirling around and enveloping them. The sickening view seemed to last for minutes, and by the time the unusual transition –it felt like dieing, only backwards- they both had their eyes shut tightly.

Suddenly, _finally_, gravity kicked in. For the umpteenth time that day, thy slumped to the ground when it caught them by surprise. The world returned to a normal panorama again, the environment stabilised. Their now human bodies were in the right place at last.

phew...at last I get to that point. damn me for not being able to type blindly

anyway, R&R please, I appreciate any comment lots (as long as it's a bit more that 'please update', I like knowing WHY you want me to XD)


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